Most seat belts used in vehicles, such as automobiles, trucks, etc., have a lap seat belt which extends across the lap of a wearer and also a shoulder belt which extends up from the attachment side of the belt across the wearer's shoulder, thus providing protection to the wearer from being thrown forward in the event of a sudden stop. The lap seat belt holds the wearer in the seat and the shoulder strap prevents the wearer from jack-knifing forward. Most types of seat belts are adjustable for different sized passengers and drivers. A lap seat belt passes from one side of a seat across the seat to a releasable catch or attachment buckle on the other side of the seat. The belt passes through the catch or attachment buckle and then becomes a shoulder belt crossing over the front of a wearer and being attached at shoulder height above the seat at the side where the seat belt is initially attached.
The problem with such types of seat belts is that the angle the shoulder belt from the catch or attachment buckle often extends across the neck of the wearer and this becomes irritating as it rubs against the skin. My patented seat belt adjuster U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,099 issued on Apr. 13, 1993 provides relief to this problem by holding the shoulder belt to the lap seat belt thereby avoiding skin contact of the shoulder belt.
Use of my original seat belt adjuster has identified a number of deficiencies in the original design which this application serves to correct in a novel and inventive manner. For example the main tongue of the seat belt adjuster proved to be insufficiently resilient particularly in hot weather where the interior temperature of an automobile may exceed 120° F. The tongue, under these temperatures, will soften and spread open thereby releasing the clip rendering it useless. Furthermore it was found that the seat belt was getting caught in the closure snap thereby preventing the adjuster from sliding. Another deficiency of the original invention was that the belt would slip out from under the tongue during use. In some circumstances, the wearer's clothing would snag on the fastening clip. The deficiencies of the original seat belt adjuster often resulted in the adjuster disengaging from the seat belt rendering it useless.